Workshop: Growing Sensoral Materials

Are you curious about designing with living materials?

An ongoing research project by Richa Saini is exploring mycelium-based materials as a sustainable alternative for design and architecture, with a focus on their sensorial qualities such as texture, smell, and appearance. Unlike conventional materials, mycelium is grown rather than manufactured, making its properties variable and shaped by biological processes.

This workshop invites designers to engage directly with these materials through a guided biofabrication process.

What to expect:

• Introduction to mycelium biofabrication fundamentals
• Hands-on creation of multiple material samples
• Experiment with different materials and growth variables
• Workshop conducted in English

Participants will take one selected object home to grow and observe. The remaining prototypes will be cultivated by the researcher and included in a collective exhibition.

Participation (two-step involvement):

This workshop will be in two phases:

• First, a co-design workshop session on 26th or 27th May (full day)
• Second, a follow-up 30-45 mins session after ~3 weeks (approx. mid–late June).

Participants are expected to attend both sessions in-person, reflecting on their own grown object as well as thelab-grown/exhibited outcomes.

Who can apply?

• Designers (architecture, product, material, or related fields)
• 1–2 years of professional experience
• No prior experience with mycelium required

Why participate?

• Gain hands-on experience with a living material
• Explore material perception through making
• Contribute to an ongoing research project and exhibition